Talecris Biotherapeutics (TLCR) raised $950 million in the biggest biopharma IPO in three years and the second largest U.S. IPO this year even as the stock market fell as declines in factory orders and increases in job cuts heightened concerns about the economy’s recovery. The capital markets seem to be opening up to life sciences companies with two IPOs, 15 PIPEs, four public offerings, and five debt offerings, contributing to close to $5 billion in capital raised during the week.
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based Talecris sold 50 million shares of its common stock at its mid-range price of $19 per share and began trading on October 1 on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “TLCR.” Of the shares offered, 29.9 million were offered by the company and 21 million were offered by the selling stockholder, Talecris Holdings, which is owned by private equity firm Cerebrus-Plasma Holdings, the managing member of which is Cerebrus Partners, and limited partnerships affiliated with Ampersand Ventures. The underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 6 million shares. Talecris intends to use its share of the net proceeds to pay down debt. Morgan Stanley, Goldman, Sachs; Citigroup Global Markets, and J.P. Morgan Securities were the joint book-running managers of the offering, while Wells Fargo Securities, Barclays Capital, and UBS Investment Bank acted as co-managers.
Capital Markets Open Up to Biotechs
